Flock And Fang
by Read4urlife
Summary: Currently being revised. Be patient with me.
1. Chapter 1

Stumbling through the woods with an arm broken in three places, such fun. I tried not to let the wince show on my face, to be strong, like Max would be.

Five times I'd tried to spread my wings. Five times I'd tried to take to the air. But the pain from my broken arm would double me over and I would sob and drop to the ground.

_This is way too much for a twelve-year-old girl to be going through_, I thought to myself. It wasn't right. I'd never done anything wrong! But why, then, had my flock woken up, surrounded by Erasers. Why had I been the only one to escape? Was it because of my special "gifts".

A tear rolled down my cheek. Everything had been going so well. Max and Fang were going to get married, we had food and a dry place to sleep every night, Nudge and Iggy flirted outrageously with each other, I'd just convinced Max to let us go to school, the older kids were heading to college-and this happens. Why? Why? We hadn't seen Erasers for months, and they attack us again!

I tripped over a root and land face-first on the ground. The pain from my thrice-broken arm almost knocked me out again. I held in my wail for a second, and then let it out, "MAX! MAX!"

I sobbed endlessly, "MAX!"

I needed my flock. I needed to rescue them. They were my only family.

I heard rustling in the trees. I turned, fear like a lightning bolt through my body. I managed to stand up, "Who's there?" I cried.

Out from the bushes emerged a man about twenty-ish years old, with Native American heritage. He stared at me in shock, wearing only a pair of jeans, "Hi," He said.

I concentrated through my pain, trying to read his mind. Before I could try, I toppled over and was a second away from hitting the ground. The man caught me.

"Man, oh man, what happened to you?" He asked, and he sounded really concerned. But I couldn't trust him. I couldn't trust anyone.

"Nothing," I said, trying to stand up. Pain shot through me, and I couldn't help it. I fell again. The man caught me and held me bridal-style, carefully holding my broken arm.

"Wow, you're really light," He said conversationally, and started jogging through the woods.

"Hey! Where are you taking me!" I cried, but I couldn't struggle. I was too tired, and too hungry, and too weary.

"To a doctor, duh," The man said.

"Um, okay," I said, trying again to read his mind. _Is she okay? What happened? Why does she smell like a bird? She's beautiful. What's she doing out here in the middle of the woods? What's her name?_

"Angel," I said. The man looked at me abruptly, "I'm Angel. I'm twelve years old."

"Hi," The man said, "I'm Seth. I'm sixteen."

No way was he sixteen. But I decided it didn't matter when his jog jolted me slightly and my broken arm bounced, "AH!" I shrieked.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Seth cried, but he picked up the pace until he was sprinting at a speed I hadn't known a human could run at. But something-like this man, boy's, whatever, body temperature, told me that he wasn't human.

A tremor of fear crawled up my spine.

"You're an eraser, aren't you!" I cried, struggling to get free, holding in my cries of pain. Seth looked down at me in surprise.

"What?"

I carefully examined his thoughts. His first thought was a blackboard with a chalkboard eraser next to it. It could be that he didn't know what they were-but they could have just sent a stupid one this time.

"Let me go!" I cried.

"No, the doctor's house is right up here!" Seth yelled, and, with an extra burst of speed, burst through the trees.

I stared at the white mansion house a few dozen feet ahead, "No." I breathed, "Let me go!'

Seth winced, and bounded up to the white house, jolting me. He didn't bother to knock on the door, just rammed it open with his shoulder, shouting, "Carlisle! Carlisle!"

A man with pale white skin, blond hair, and godlike perfection stood next to Seth in a flash. He motioned to the couch. Seth laid me on it, and I didn't have enough energy to struggle.

"This will hurt," Carlisle said, his fingers skimming my arm.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I shrieked with all the air I could expel, quite a lot, considering I have a bird's syrinx and can produce amazing volumes. I curled against the couch, as far away from the doctor as I could.

Instantly, eight people stood next to the doctor in a moment so fast that I could barely track it. I froze. The eight people all looked much the same, save for a girl who seemed to be five or six years old.

I froze, listening.

None of them had heartbeats, save for the Seth person and the little girl.

They were all dead.

"Robots!" I exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Carlisle asked, concern in his strange golden eyes.

"You're all robots!" I sobbed, "Just kill me now! I don't want to go back to the school! I'd rather die!" I glared at him.

"What's her name?" Carlisle asked Seth.

"Angel," Seth said.

"Okay, Angel, sweetie, we're not going to hurt you, okay?" Carlisle said, "I'm just going to fix up your arm. You must be in immense pain."

I reached into his mind, and immediately had to pull it. His thoughts moved quickly, processing information I couldn't even dream of at lightning speeds. I shivered.

"Just kill me now," I repeated.

Carlisle reached towards me, and I pulled up my arm to defend myself. Unfortunately, it was my broken one, and I passed out.

"Carlisle, we should take her to the hospital," Esme said, concern in her eyes.

Carlisle glanced at her, "Not so, Esme." He pulled up the sleeve of Angel's shirt, revealing the scars, cuts, and bruises. The vampires in the room gasped. Seth growled, low in his throat.

"She may be a victim of child abuse," Carlisle explained.

"Seth?" Edward interrupted suddenly, "You imprinted on her, didn't you?"

Seth shrugged, "Yeah."

"Seth!" Bella exclaimed, "I'm so happy for you!" She patted him on the shoulder, smiling. Nessie held her hand in his and sent him a picture of her and Jacob, then replaced it with him and the girl bounding through the door.

Seth shrugged, "I just. . .want her to be all right. Carlisle, you set her bone right?"

Carlisle nodded at the white plaster he'd placed around her arm, "It looks like something-or somethings-deliberately broke her bone. It's very sad," He frowned, his fingers fluttering nimbly over her right arm, the unbroken one, "It's odd. Her bones are very light and delicate, almost as if they were hollow."

"She's just so tiny," Seth murmured.

"And her heart is very fast," Carlisle added, "I was almost concerned at first, but since it's keeping up the pace, even while she's unconscious, I'm going to say this is normal for her." His eyes lost their focus, "Edward, did you get a read off her?"

"No," Edward said, "It's odd, almost the way Bella was. Rather, though, it seems like she's blocking herself from me, rather than Bella doing it subconsciously."

"And I didn't see her coming," Alice added.

Carlisle took a deep breath, then said, "All right, Seth. I'm sorry, but I don't think Angel is human."

"WHAT?" Seth exclaimed, "Then what is she?"

Carlisle shrugged, "I don't know."

I woke up with a jolt. My sharp nose detected food, frying bacon, and my stomach rumbled.

"Hey, she woke up!" A pixie-like girl with black hair exclaimed, "That's a day earlier than Carlisle said it would be!" She danced over to me, "Hi, Angel, I'm Alice!"

I stared at her, the fingers on the right hand curling into fists. The fingers on my left couldn't move-they were sealed into a cast, "Where's your heartbeat?"I said.

Alice blinked, "Huh?"

I reached into her mind, and, instead of being swept along, planted what I wanted her to do in it. She walked out of the dining room, frowned, then turned back around, "Hey, Angel. . .what?"

I jumped up, tensed, from my place on the couch. Instantly, I was surrounded. Seth, Alice, Carlisle-the only names I knew, among them.

"Angel," Seth said, "It's okay, honest. We're not going to hurt you."

"What are you?" I snapped, "You're. . .you're dead!" I looked to Seth, "Except for you. But you're not normal, either."

Carlisle broke in, "Well, Angel, I suppose we should tell you. We're vampires."

He said it, so abrupt, that I could barely believe him. I looked around at the ten of them, no, eleven-another native american man had joined them. I took a deep breath, "Vampires."

"Yes," Carlisle said.

"Then what are you, Seth?" I asked, pointing a finger at him.

"I'm a werewolf," Seth said cheerfully.

I took another deep breath, and looked inside Seth's thoughts-he seemed to think more clearly than the vampires-_She seems to be taking this well. I wonder what she'll do about the whole imprinting thing. Oh, and the whole drinking-blood thing._

I tensed, then quickly formulated the plan. I turned to Seth, "Defend me while I escape."

I dodged around Carlisle, who tried to reach for me. Seth ran into him, knocking him aside. In that moment, he simply changed, one moment a man, the next moment, a giant wolf.

I tried not to scream. They'd been telling the truth! I bolted for the door. I felt strong, cold fingers on my shoulders, but with a wolf's growl, the fingers were knocked off.

Right as I reached the door, however, a bear-like vampire stepped in front of it.

"Seth!" I cried, unsure whether or not he could hear me in wolf for. I heard him behind me, fighting off the vampires. I took a deep breath and reached into bear-like vampire's mind. _Let me pass_. I thought.

He frowned and started to step aside. He stopped, and frowned at me.

I heard vibrations in the air behind me, and turned. Seth stood their in human form, pulling on a pair of jeans that had appeared out of nowhere, "What just happened?" He asked, confused.

"She controlled your mind," A bronze-haired vampire said simply, "I don't know how she did it, but I could feel her thoughts in yours." He looked my straight in the eye, "I'm Edward."

"Angel, we're not going to hurt you," Carlisle said again, "We just want to help you."

I couldn't help it. I burst into tears, sinking to the floor. I wanted my flock.


	2. Trustbeing fooled into it

**I'm really very annoyed. I probably got about ten people favoriting my story. . .but only five reviews. FIVE. FIVE. If you want me to continue this story, review. I won't update anymore until I have a total of at least fifteen reviews so there. To those glorious few who did review, I'm sending you virtual muffins. The kind with chocolate chips. Mm. Darn it. Now I'm hungry :-0. Anyway, review. Here's all you have to write for a review: "I am reviewing this story. Please continue it," And I will be happy. It's quite easy, actually.**

**Okay, Chapter two. You all know you want it. . . . **

**Oh. And, for all that is Maximum Ride, go to this awesome story that is on my favorites on my profile. I'm going to go crazy if the author doesn't update it. . .and it's an extremely good story, anyway. Probably better than the actual book. So encourage the author to review! And give her butterscotch (inside joke). It's called Destiny by avacoo. Mucho fax. Mucho action. Mucho kicking eraser butt.**

**On with the story. Yes, yes, I'll finally get around to it. Just typing in first person about my self is so much fun. I really like muffins. I like reviews more, though. So I will bless muffins on those that review. **

CHAPTER TWO

An hour later, I sat on the sofa. The little girl-Renesmee-sat in my lap, fast asleep. She'd greatly helped with the Cullens' explanation of the story, through her odd-transferring thoughts ability that was somewhat similar to one of mine. Edward, Bella, Carlisle, and Alice had done most of the talking.

"Will you tell us a little bit about yourself, Angel?" Carlisle asked, his dark gold eyes captivating mine. I liked at the floor, hugging Renesmee to myself (she was like a giant teddy bear) and trying not to be mesmerized.

I knew what Max would say, _"Be careful! They could be with the school! If not, they might want to make money out of you!"_ I pressed my wings harder against my back, grateful that they were completely hidden under my dark blue sweater, although my wings were starting to cramp a little. And my sweater was soaked with blood.

"What do you want to know?" I rasped, playing the cautious, good-little girl. I needed to get out of here and rescue my flock-somehow-as soon as I could.

"Why were you in the woods with your arm broken so terribly, for starters?" Edward said.

"I don't know," I lied, "I just woke up like that."

"Okay, Angel," Carlisle said, "Do you have a last name?"

I wished desperately that I'd given my usual fake name-Ariel-to them, "Jackson. My last name is Jackson. Angel Jackson."

"Guys, stop pestering her," Seth interrupted. He'd been standing tensely by the door, staring at us the whole time, "She'll tell you when she wants to."

I squirmed at little. The Cullens had explained to me about "Imprinting." And I only knew that it would make it harder for me to escape. Seth would never let me go. Unless I told him to?

"Can I go home? My parents must be worried," I said, lying through my teeth. Hey, I was the best liar in the flock, better than Max and Fang, even, because I could usually tell if my victim believed me or not. I listened in intently to Carlisle's thoughts, and could make out that he was unsure.

"Hey, before you go, Ange," Alice said cheerfully, "Can you tell us how you controlled Seth's mind?"

I shrugged, "I dunno. I've always been able to do that."

"Okay," Carlisle said reassuringly, "Here's my card. Call me if you want to know anything. Tell us when your arm is haled."

"Or you'll track me by scent?" I guessed, glancing between the four of them.

Edward's eyes were piercing, "Exactly."

I shrugged again, "Okay. Wait. One more question. How long is my arm supposed to take to heal? And how long have I been asleep?"

"You slept for three days," Carlisle answered, "And it should take about three weeks."

Which, with our zippy recombinant DNA healing abilities, meant my arm was already healed, "Thanks," I said cheerfully, jumping up.

"Wait, Angel," Edward said. I stopped to look at him.

"Uh-huh?"

"What's your address?"

"Oh, 613 Monroe Road," I answered, lying right on cue.

"And do you live here, in Port Angeles?" Edward asked.

"Of course," I said, "Thanks, all of you. I can walk home-I like the excersise," I walked out the door, and started down the long driveway, not looking back.

I'd gone about twenty feet before I'd looked through their minds and realized my mistake. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever agree with them if there's the slightest possibility they don't trust you. I should've said, _No, I live just a few streets down_, or _I live next to the groccery store in this town_, but _no. _The didn't live in damned Port Angeles. They lived in freaking _Forks._

I turned to see the eight vampires-minus sleeping Renesmee-and werewolf Seth by the door. I let out a yelp and started sprinting. As I ran, I crushed the cast on my arm with my fist, wincing at the pain. I shook my arm in the air; good, it had healed neatly.

I can run fast, faster than any human would even imagine, but the Cullens were vampires. They surrounded my in less than a moment.

"Enough with the lies, Angel," Edward said, "Are you a dhampire, like Renesmee? Or are you something else entirely?" He put his face close to mine, "All we know is, you're not human."

"I'm human," I argued. Ninety eight percent.

"How did your arm heal so quickly? How did you run so fast? Why is your heartbeat so fast? How can you control our thoughts-and-as I suspect, hear them?"

I took a minute to respond, "Yeah, I can read-minds."

Emmett groaned comically, "Ah! Another mind-reader!"

Carlisle frowned, "We don't like to pressure you, Angel-"

"Are you saying this isn't pressure?" I asked, guesturing to them-they'd surrounded me.

"Stop threatening her," Seth said, and then, to my amazement, walked over to stand next to me, "Or I'll stop you."

Suddenly, I wondered why I was panicking so much. These people only wanted to help me. They were nice. They were kind. I could trust them, "I feel so relaxed," I sighed.

"I guess that works," I heard Seth mutter, but didn't take notice of it.

"Why don't we go back to our house and you can tell us your story?" Carlisle said comfortingly.

"Oh. Okay." I said.

DDDDDDDDDDDD

"My real name is Angel Ride," I said.

The nine of them sat around me, eyes all intent. I didn't feel afraid though. I felt la-di-dah. Happy. Hap-py. There was no reason to worry. **A/N: If you haven't noticed, Jasper's controlling her emotions.**

"Hm. Okay, what are you, Angel?" Carlisle said in that comforting way of his.

I frowned, "I don't know if I should be telling you this. Max would be so mad."

"Who's Max?" Seth asked.

I shrugged, "She's like my mom. Except she's only eight years older than me. She's been taking care of me since I was practically a baby, since I was two." A tear welled up in my eyes, "She and my fl-family, they were all kidnapped!" I buried my head in my hands.

At least I wasn't doped up enough not to look into their minds. As soon as I heard Jasper's mind, I looked up and gasped, "Hey! You're-" It was sort of like the opposite of what Nudge did, "You're controlling my emotions!" I stood up and scooted away on the couch, tensing my fingers into fists, "Stop it!"

"I didn't-" Jasper began, shifting slightly. The intense feeling of trust faded. My eyes opened wide, and I gasped, tilted my head back, and let out a scream-so aided by my syrinx. It probably carried at least half a mile, high-pitched, and screaming for help.

"Damn," Edward muttered, "Jasper?" Then the feeling of exhaustion swept over me and I feel into endless sleep.

**Come over to the dark side! We have cookies! (and muffins).**

**Okay, now, try to guess what I'm going to say. I'm going to tell you how to make me type faster. Click the little green button right next to you. Type in random letters that somehow array themselves into something to do with the story. Bwa ha ha, I tricked you into reviewing.**


	3. Good luck, break a leg!

Escape.

Is.

Much.

Harder.

Than.

It.

Looks.

Even though, when I'd woken up, the Cullens (and Seth, who seemed to be my own personal shadow) were performing day-to-day activities; playing the piano, the little Renesmee downing packets of blood, Carlisle pouring over doctor's examinations, Alice planning a shopping spree. . .it was still impossible to escape.

I watched them for about half an hour through half-closed eyes. Thank god Edward couldn't read my mind-he would have easily noticed my awakening. When Carlisle (who'd been sitting by the door) stood up to go talk quietly with Edward about a piece my fellow mind reader was playing on the piano, I watched them warily for thirty seconds, stood up, yawned, and bolted for the door.

Needless to say, Seth caught me before I touched the handle.

"Dang, Angel, why can't you just have breakfast like a normal person?" He teased, steering me over to the dining room. Esme and Rosalie were cooking breakfast, and my stomach rumbled. We bird-kids, after all, were always very skinny.

After a glorious breakfast, I sat at the table, drumming my fingers. I glanced between the entire Cullen clan, plus Seth. They watched me. I pushed my chair back from the table, "Can I go to the bathroom?"

They let me pass. I went to the bathroom, locked the door, and pressed my ear to it.

"What should we do about her?" Edward's voice.

"We can't just leave her to fend for herself! She's just a little girl, and she's probably being abused! Remember her arm!" Rosalie cried in indignation.

"Rose, not to be the devil's advocate, but she's not human," Emmett interrupted.

"So?" Rosalie exclaimed, "She's still a child!"

Right. Time for me to leave. The bathroom had a window; I shoved it open, climbed out, balanced on the sill, looked to the ground (the bathroom was on the second story, about twenty feet in the air) and let myself drop, opening my wings so that I would fall lightly. I needed to save my flock! I was their only hope!

"Hey, what was that?" Alice interrupted cheerfully.

"You don't think. . ." Edward began. That was enough for me. I bolted into the air, sprinting as fast as I could and as high into the sky, using cloud cover to hide me.

Escape!

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy.

"We are one of many. We are one of many," The flyboys intoned, right on cue. I twisted around, and gasped. Maybe twenty feet from me, at least two dozen flyboys flew with their awkward, mechanical movements.

I'd much rather fight Erasers. They have minds. You can control them.

I swooped down, plummeting two hundred feet. I could hear the flyboys racing after me, turned my head, and gulped. These models were faster! I swerved and dropped below the tree line just before a flyboy grabbed my leg.

I dodged in between trees, flapping my wings hard, hearing the satisfying crunch of metal behind me. The flyboys might be faster, but I was certainly more agile. With one powerful flap, I raised myself into open sky, a hundred feet above the ground. Almost free!

A flyboy grabbed my leg.

I glanced down, cold fear shooting up my spine. I let out a yelp and tried to shake it up, but it held on tightly with a bone-shattering grip. I let out a yelp as my leg broke. Stupid school! They'd already broken my arm, why not my leg as well!

Ignoring the pain, I began to kick it with my other foot. The flyboy made a moaning sound and shut down when I kicked the base of its spine.

Unfortunately. . .

It didn't let lose of my leg.

"AH!" I plummeted through the air, dropping like a rock. Flapping my wings frantically, I managed to slow my descent. . .and the trees helped.

"Ow!" A tree branched smashed into me. The flyboy let go, but I couldn't gain any altitude, bouncing between branches like a rock. I folded my wings of my body and curled up into a little ball, covering my neck.

_SLAM!_ I smacked the ground, hard. For a minute, everything was black. Slowly my vision cleared. I moaned a little bit. So much for that escape attempt. I was stupid, stupid. I couldn't leave a house of vampires without being found by _robots!_

About ten Flyboys surrounded me. I gulped, hard. I couldn't fight, not like this, not with my leg throbbing and my head bleeding and blood gushing into my eyes and my right arm pulled out of its socket.

"Come with us and we will not hurt you," The flyboy ordered.

I managed to stand on one leg, balancing precariously. I didn't really have a choice, "Okay," I said in a little-girl voice. Maybe they would take me to Max and my flock.

"Fold your wings. No escape attempts," A flyboy intoned.

I nodded, trembling. I didn't want to go back to the school. I couldn't. It had been years since I'd been in that. . ._torture chamber_. . .but I remembered every last horrific detail.

But I didn't have a choice.

I folded my wings. Tears pooled in my eyes.

A flyboy stepped forward and grabbed me roughly. I let out a shriek and fell forward, onto my hands and knees. It kept dragging my arm, and my broken leg trailed painfully behind, sending fresh stabs of pain through me.

"No!" I shrieked, suddenly overcome with fear, "No! Someone! Max! Fang! Gazzy! Someone! HELP!"


	4. I can't

**A/N: Rather a boring chapter, but necessary. Action will start happening in the next chapter, promise! For all you amazing reviewers, I toss Muffins at you! The chocolate chip kind! Mm. Now I'm hungry. Anyway, to the point of this authors' note: I, a teenaged girl obsessed with Maximum Ride, solemnly swear NOT to review whore any more. I apologize. I didn't know it was a bad thing. (Bows down to reviews) so, as an apology, I am giving you. . .two chapters in two minutes! Cassamora, thank you for pointing it out. Worships you especially, and dodges acid pie. . .onto the story!**

**. . . . . .**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

An enormous wolf knocked the flyboy down.

I watched in disbelief as Seth took on the flyboys, one by one. He tore them to shreds, biting off hunks of metal with his teeth.

He glanced at me with his huge, dark eyes after he'd ripped the robots to pieces. He barked low, deeply. I heard the command in his mind; _Get on_.

I got on his back, burying my fists in his thick, silky fur, and he started running.

The flock could fly at a hundred miles per hour, sprinting, and could dive even faster. Max could reach an exceeding speed of two hundred miles per hour, or so. But that was nothing compared to what Seth could do. I practically felt like I was flying, without my wings.

After about twenty seconds, we were joined by Edward Cullen. He raced alongside Seth, glanced at my broken-down condition, and ran off to get Carlisle.

It took only a minute to reach the Cullen house. Seth ran inside, deposited me on the couch, and waited another minute for Carlisle to show up.

By the time the rest of the vampires had arrived, Seth had changed into a pair of jeans and Carlisle had splinted my leg, as well as popped my arm back into its socket and taken care of my worse wounds.

"What were those things?" Seth asked. Edward peered into his mind and gave everyone a quick recount of what Seth knew.

I drew in a shaky breath, "They're called Flyboys." I looked to the ground, "They would've taken me somewhere awful if you hadn't shown up." I breathed again, "Thank. . .thanks, Seth."

Seth shrugged.

"Where would they have taken you?" Carlisle asked.

I could feel Jasper pumping trust into, but was powerless to stop it, "It's call the School. . ." I let out finally, through gritted teeth.

"And the school is?" Carlisle suggested.

I bit my lip, "It's where they took my family," I shut up and stared at the floor.

"Angel," Carlisle interrupted, "Your arm healed in three days. Your bones are incredibly light. You smell like a bird. You managed to travel six miles in approximately three minutes. What exactly are you, Angel?"

"Angel," I said.

"I know your name," Carlisle said gently.

If only he knew.

I was about to reply a cutting remark; I'd had pretty much all I could stand of the questioning. Then the doorbell rang.

Ten heads turned to the door in shock, "It's Charlie," Bella said reluctantly. I frowned. Who was Charlie? Bella walked over at human speed to the door, opened it, and said, "Hey, dad."

_Huh_?

"Charlie" was a middle-aged man. He took one look inside the house, glanced at me, and said, "Who's that?"

"This is Angel," Bella said. If she had any blood, I swear, she would have been blushing, "Um. . .she's a house guest of ours."

Charlie eyed me speculatively.

Carlisle walked over to him and whispered in his ear. With my super-cool bird kid hearing, it was easy enough to make out the words; "We think she's some sort of child abuse victim, but she won't tell us anything."

If only they knew the truth.

I carefully read Charlie's thoughts. What? He was with the police? With a tight set to his face, he turned to me and said, "Angel, if you have any problems, you can trust the police, okay?"

I nodded with my best-little-girl look, "Okay, Charlie."

"I was going to invite Bells to come over to Sue's house for dinner," Charlie said evasively. Huh? Dinner? What time was it? Glancing at Charlie, I could tell he was dying to talk to me, "And maybe you could bring Renesmee and Edward too, Bells. And do you think Angel would like to come?"

"Oh, that's okay, dad," Bella said through gritted teeth, "Renesmee and Edward would love to go, but Angel wants to stay here, okay?"

Darn.

Charlie shot me a wary glance. He and Carlisle chatted for a few moments, then Renesmee, Bella and Edward left with Charlie.

"Can you please tell people my name is Ariel?" I asked, sinking into the couch.

Emmett frowned, "Why?"

"It's not a good thing if people know my real name," I explained. I shivered. Ooh, it was cold, "Can I have blanket?"

Rosalie fetched me one in the blink of an eye with her super-vampire speed.

"Angel," Carlisle said, "Tell us what you are. Tell us what those things that attacked you were."

I wanted to trust him. I really did. But even though I couldn't think of any reason _not_ to trust him, other than the obvious, memories of the school still bled through me. I. Had. Trust. Issues. I couldn't trust people. I just couldn't.

"I can't," I said.


	5. A few bad ideas

Chapter 5

My OPS (Own personal Shadow, AKA Seth) had a hard time denying me the right to go outside. I would give him bambi eyes, pout, he would glance anxiously at Carlisle, whisper, "Carlisle, come on," Carlisle would shake his head adamantly, then I would start the cycle over again.

Finally, Carlisle gave in.

"As long as you stay within a few feet of her," Carlisle ammended, glancing between me and Seth, "We have no idea what you might pull, Angel."

"Since you won't tell us anything," Emmett muttered. He and Jasper sat on the couch, playing Wii as if it were normal. Jasper was creaming Emmett at Mario Cart.

I shrugged guilty and followed Seth outside. The sun was setting. I let in a deep breath and let the wind blow past me.

"You know I'm going to try to escape," I warned Seth.

Seth grinned, "I know. But I have super-awesome wolf powers, so you'll fail. Miserably."

I raised my eyebrows. I could probably get into the air before Seth could Change into a Wolf. . .but who knew how high wolves could jump? I sat on the porch, breathing in the scent of surrounding forest, trailing my fingers through the dirt. Seth sat beside me, silently.

"I've really to get back to my family," I said abruptly, staring at the ground.

"You say they've been captured, or something. We could help you?" Seth volunteered tenatively.

I looked up and stared at him. I'd never considered this. Could I really trust the Cullens so much? Would they really help me? "Really?" I whispered. I couldn't do it on my own.

"Yeah, sure," Seth said, shrugging, "I'm sure that whoever they are, they're no match for a bunch of vampires and a pack of werewolves."

Hope lighted inside of me.

"Why was your family kidnapped, anyway?" Seth asked conversationally.

My shoulders slumped. I looked at the ground, not at him. How could I tell them what we were? The kind of freaks we were. At least what he was _normal. _For his tribe, at least. I didn't even belong in nature.

A yawn burst from my lips and I tilted back my head and stretched my jaws, the events of the day catching up to me. Seth raised an eyebrow, "Hey, we can talk about it tomorrow."

I started to argue. My flock wouldn't be saved just because I could "talk about it tomorrow." But Seth dragged me up, scooped me into his arms, and carried me inside.

"Carlisle, I need a bed?" He called.

"What?" I protested.

"You can have the one in my room," Rosalie offered. I glanced a peek at her thoughts. She thought of me as a little girl. A cute little girl. One she wanted to take care of.

Seth bounded up the stairs and plopped me on the bed. I was too tired to argue any more, or even try to escape. I just fell asleep.

DDDDDDDDDD

When I came out of my foggy dream-state, a warm body lay next to mine.

"Wha?" I said.

"You were having nightmares," Seth explained. I didn't bother to open my eyes, but I recognized his voice, "Screaming and yelling about a flock of birds and some terrible school." He sat next to me.

I shivered, "Bur, it's cold."

"That's why I'm here," Seth said, "I'm hot enough to fry an egg on!" He sounded enormously proud of the fact.

"Whatever," I muttered, lying back down, pulling the blankets around me. Seth lay next to me. Some of my nightmares came back to me, and I let out a whimper.

"What's wrong?" Seth asked instantly.

I opened my eyes and found that his face was right next to mine. I sighed, "When I was a little girl, Max used to hold me tight. I was always afraid of. . .um. . .bad things that had happened to me in the past, but Max being there made it better."

"Hm," Seth said, "Is it okay if I hold you, instead of Max?"

I read his thoughts, and he meant exactly what he said. And he was nice, and he was like a personal space heater, and room was cold, so I shrugged, "Okay."

Seth wrapped his arms around me. I lay my head on his chest, remembering how he'd saved me from the Flyboys earlier that that. If not for him, I would've been taken back to the school.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"Huh?" Seth asked.

"For saving me. Today."

"Course I saved you. Go to sleep."

I yawned. My eyes closed. I obeyed him.

DDDDDDD

I woke up to a fog, which voices penetrated. My sub-conscious mind didn't really decode them.

Seth's voice, "I just woke up and I felt something hard on her back and I lifted up her sweater to see what it was!"

"Amazing," Carlisle said, "It explains everything. Do you know how she got them?"

"Something to do with some sort of school, I think," Seth said, "She kept murmuring about this School in her sleep. Whimpering, too. Crying out for this Max person."

"She really is an Angel. . ." Rosalie breathed.

I jolted up at this words, my early-morning awareness finally filtering their words. I wore only my tank-top, someone had taken my sweater. I put my hand to my back and traced my wings with my fingertips. The entire Cullen clan. . .plus Seth. . .plus a bunch of Quilliete Native American boys that I didn't know (and one girl with a sour expression) had crammed into Rosalie's room.

And they all were staring at me.

I flapped my wings slightly, creating a small draft, "That's why my bones are so light," I quipped, trying for a joke. I glanced at Seth, wincing at his wide-eyes. Why-? I knew it was a bad idea for him to lie next to me! Actually, I didn't know it was a bad idea. Ugh. Stupid me, stupid angel! I hastily read through their thoughts. Everyone was stuck in the same gear; shock.

"Angel," Carlisle said gently, "You have wings. Would you like to explain it to us?"

I gulped.

"I need to get to death valley, fast, and I need to save my family," I said finally.

Seth pulled out a ring of car keys, "You can explain on the way."


	6. And then it blew up Final chapter!

Explanations suck. Everybody knows that. Or maybe you don't.

Hey, if you're a human-avian mind reading bird kid, explanations really suck. Especially if you're explaining to a handful of vampires and ten plus werewolves.

Do you know if you're rich, you can just OWN an airplane? I didn't know that. But Carlisle had his own private little jet (which Edward flew). The vampires and the werewolves listened to me in rapt attention as I spun out the tale of our torture, our escape from the school, and our trial since then.

Halfway through, Jacob had to order Seth to calm down. Seth was in danger our shifting into wolf, his body vibrating and his mind blazing with fury.

But I got through. And I cried a little, I admit.

But I didn't break down sobbing. Always good.

When I finished, everyone stared at me in stunned silence. Esme and Rosalie had identical shocked expressions. Most of the werewolves looked extremely pissed. Seth growled in anger, clenching his fists tightly.

"So, yeah, that's my life." I ended lamely.

Then the plane exploded.

Everything fell apart in a flash of heat. I screamed. Several others did as well. A huge fireball rushed towards us, and the scent of annomia filled my nose. A bomb, I though t hazily. Everything felt as if it were falling apart. A wrenching, terrible pain filled me, and I knew my already hurt leg had been re-broken. My skin burned. I shrieked bloody murder and my vision filled with dots.

When I woke up, air rushed past me. My head cleared, slowly, and I realized I was about two thousand feet above the ground.

I screamed and flapped my wings desperately. A huge chunk of metal, the size of three cars, whistled just inches away from me. I fluttered my wings, and stared up through the sky.

Rosalie plummeted down past me. I screamed and dived down after her, grabbing her cold arm and flapping desperately to keep her heavy weight in the air.

"Angel, I'm fine," She said, quite calmly. "We're above water. And vampires are nearly indestructible, anyway."

I glanced down at the ground, thousands of feet below, and saw a patch of blue. A huge, russet colored wolf fell, about twenty feet away. I listened intently and realized it was Jacob. His thoughts weren't concerned either. The chunks of airplane would hit the water first, breaking the tension, and making the surface less brick-like.

"Angel, you okay?" Rosalie asked, concern lining her features. I flapped desperately, not wanting to let her go. "You're covered with burns and bruises."

I gave her a weak smile, panting, "I'm not made of stone."

She smiled back, "Meet you at the bottom, okay? Fly safely." Awe filled her expression, "You really are an angel, you know that?"

I grinned, "Yeah." I let her go. She fell down, past the clouds, until all I could see was the hazy blue of the water below us, past the blanket of misty gray air.

Another huge portion of plane fell past me, about thirty feet away. I wondered briefly why it had exploded, then realized my luck simply wasn't that good. The school had found me, and decided this was an extraordinarily good time to take out anyone helping me.

I really, really hoped my flock was okay. And total. I felt a pang in my heart as I remembered my small black Scottie.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Someone was screaming. Someone loud and male and very familiar.

Seth plummeted past me, about twenty feet away. He was still strapped into the his airplane seat and a generous chunk of metal.

I froze and lost altitude because I'd forgotten to flap. If Seth was held into that metal portion, then he'd plunge below the water's surface, unable to swim to safety. But very, very able to drown.

"SETH!" I screamed. I folded my wings and dropped, free falling. I swooped into a cloud, came out soaked in water, and Seth was three hundred feet below me.

"SETH!" I screamed again. I soared downwards as fast as I could, pushing myself to my limit, wishing so much that I had super-speed like Max. Gravity eagerly pushed me to the ground, but it worked on Seth, too. Wind whipped through my hair, sending blond streaks flying into my face.

I put on an extra burst of speed. I couldn't let Seth drown. He'd saved me.

I dropped with a thump next to Seth, grabbing his arm to keep the wind from ripping me off of him. He stared at me, "Angel!"

"Seth!" I cried. I struggled with his seatbelt, but it was stuck, it wouldn't loosen. Seth tired to help me, but his arm wouldn't move right-it was broken, from some piece of metal hitting it, probably. Bone jutted out from his skin. I resisted the urge to throw up.

The water was close. One, two hundred feet away. We had seconds. I ripped furiously at the seatbelt, and, just before we hit the water, managed to pull Seth free.

SPLASH!

River water splashed over me, soaking my already shredded clothing. I cried but held on to Seth, beating my wings like a hummingbird. A pain gash on my wing caused me to wince in pain with every strained flap.

"Angel," Seth said weakly. "It's okay. You can let me go!"

"No!" Seth was heavy, way to heavy for me to hold. But I couldn't let go. No matter what. I lost altitude, but managed to glide over to dry land. Seth couldn't-wouldn't drown.

"Angel! We're only ten feet above the water! Let me go!"

But I couldn't hold on any long. My wings folded and we fell into the river.

For a second, I lost myself in murky darkness. Everything floated. I sucked in a deep breath of water, oh-so-thankful for the crazy gills that I'd developed, and realized Seth was right. We were okay.

Gasping, panting, sobbing for air, Seth and I made our way over to the river's edge, and dragged ourselves up onto the muddy bank. We collapsed, next to each other.

Seth slung an arm over me protectively. "Angel, you all right?"

I nodded.

His arm felt okay. I didn't freak out. I knew it was okay to trust Seth, would have known even without reading his mind, because he would always look after me. He would always take care of me. And I would always take care of him, too.

My eyelids felt as if they'd been weighted. I couldn't keep them open anymore. And I slept.

**And they save the flock, everyone goes to the Cullens to live, and they all gain immortality!**

**No, really. You all know that was going to happen. There is no way the school could win against our forks friends.**

**Before you freak out on me for ending it there, let me explain. The story was never about saving the flock. The story was about Angel learning to trust Seth. And she does. Thus, the story is over. I might write a sequel if someone strangles me, but I doubt it. I'm kind of sick of crossovers for now.**

**What am I doing next? I have to finish my other crossover. I'm almost finished editing a story for an OC contest featuring non-mary-sue, and it'll be up in a few days. Then I'm going to work on this seven-part series I have planned out. After that? Who knows! I'm going to keep writing. **

**Thank you everyone who reviewed. I hope you loved FLOCK AND FANG very much :-D **

**-Read4urlife**


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